Stronger
by WillowLe'Beau
Summary: Charlotte Stone has had a rough life that includes an abusive father and a mother whose indifference may have caused Charlotte to lose her life. But a decision that was based on cowardice may change everything she knew forever.  AU-ish.
1. Chapter 1

Scared. That's all I've ever been. The only way I've ever lived my life. I would have given anything to live a life free of fear. Which is why when _he,_my father, came home so fully drowned in the bottle, I ran. I saw him beat my mother, and then my sister who she was giving a bath. I blame myself for their pain and suffering. But then again…I blame my mother for staying with that horrible man. I should have warned them. Told them that he was on his way home and it wouldn't be pretty. But what did I do? I ran like the coward I was. Could you blame me though? I was fifteen and didn't know what else to do. I had been a victim of an abusive father and a mother who was so scared of the man herself she didn't dare say anything against him. Instead she hid her bruises and those of me and my sister with makeup as best she could. But I was done with being afraid so I willed my feet to the police station. I told them about how my father, Steven Stone, had hit my mother and sister, and how he had been hurting me since I could remember. At first I think they thought I was making it up until I showed them the bruise on my side where he had thrown me against the table and my side had caught the blow. The officers I had told my story to began talking in hushed tones and then they turned to me and told me they were going to look into these accusations by going to my house and talking to my family. I could already picture the conversation in my head. The officers would tell my parents what I had told them, my father would deny the claim and my mother would solemnly agree with him hoping the bruises she had just received wouldn't be noticeable. My father would be furious at me. I couldn't go home. Not now. Not ever. In the end I nodded my head at the officers as they left. At that point in time all I could think is that if I went home I would surely die. I felt horrible about leaving my sister alone to bear the horrible life she was listening. Maybe one day I could go back and get her; giving that she lived through the fights and the drunken rages of my father. So as I contemplated this I did the only thing I could think of. I opened the door of the station and slipped out into the dark night…

I didn't know where I was going or where I would end up until I stopped in front of Irving Hall. I was exhausted and didn't know where else to go, so I slipped into the side door and ran into a figure. As I glanced up to see what I had bumped into I noticed it was a very pretty redheaded lady.

"Well, what do we have here?" she said.

"I-I-I'm sorry ma'am." I stammered.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of its character's. I do however own Charlotte, and any other character's that I make up along the way.

Note: Ok, so here's the thing. I'm horrible at writing the typical "Newsie New York" accent thing. In your opinion my dear readers should I attempt at writing it, or would you all rather use your imagination. For the moment however, I'm just going to let you guys use your imaginations. Let me know ASAP. Thanks. **Willow**

"Look at you, you poor thing. Shivering and no decent clothes covering you." The lady said.

She introduced herself as Medda "Swedish Meadowlark" Larkson. She was a performer at Irving Hall and a friend to some group of people she called '_Newsies_'. This seemed all very strange to me and my fifteen year old brain started feeling fuzzy. I guess I looked like I was gonna faint or something because all of a sudden this crazy lady who talks about newsies and meadowlark's (whatever those things are) led me to a room. She left me for a few minutes and then came back in with a tray of the most delicious smelling food ever. There was a potato and broccoli and the biggest piece of chicken my eyes had ever looked at. It had to be the size of my head! Or so it seemed.

"I have to go now my darling, but when I return we shall see about some new clothes for you all right?"

I nodded. To busy consuming my meal to really care what she said or did.

Half-way through my meal I heard the melodius sounds of a song and the gigantic roar of cheers coming from the theater. I was so hungry and hadn't even finished my food but I was dying to investigate. I stuck my head around the side curtains to see what was going on. Medda was on the stage in an outlandish costume full of frills and bows'. Her voice rang out loud as she said:

"Hello Newsies! What's new?"

I poked my head even farther out of the curtain to get a better look at the audience. The first thing I noticed was that there were no adults. The second thing I noticed was that all the people in the seats were boys. In my head two and two added up. Theses boys were those newsies Medda had been talking about. But, what did they do? Why were they here? My eyes were still scanning the room when a pair of blue eyes locked with mine. I instantly started blushing and dissappeared behind the curtain…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING. Oh, and as of now I will not be doing the Newsie accent thing unless you, my dear readers, absolutely want it in the stories. Please let me know as the Newsies are going to start speaking in this chapter…lol.

I went back to my room and finished my dinner. I sat on the bed contemplating where I was going to go from here when I heard voices in the hall. I opened the door and stepped out to see what was going on when I came into contact with something bigger than me and hard. I looked up and saw the same blue eyes from earlier. I could already feel the blush rushing back to my cheeks. The first emotion I felt was embarrassment which slowly faded into anger when I realized the stupid boy I had knocked into had the most annoying smirk on his face. For a moment I seriously considered slapping it right off his face. It was a good thing Medda chose to speak at that moment because I had my hand half-way raised.

"Hello there dear, it's good to see you. How was your dinner? Did you like it?"

I nodded. I wanted to tell her it was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten, but I was afraid if I spoke I might tell this boy he had the most beautiful blue eyes. I could feel him staring at me as I tried to stare at anything but him. That's when I noticed the kid next to him. He was dressed like a cowboy! I stifled a laugh, and the cowboy kid looked at me like I had three heads.

"What's so funny?" the cowboy kid asked me.

"Nothing, nothing at all." I replied. But of course my curiousity got the better of me.

"Hey, why are you dressed like a cowboy?"

"Cause one day I'm gonna go to Santa Fe. That's in New Mexico and be a real cowboy. The names Kelly, Jack Kelly.

He extended his had to me but not before he spit in it. Now, considering the conditions I lived in before, I was used to some pretty gross things, but nothing prepared me for that. I didn't know what to do. I didn't wanna be rude, but I sure as heck didn't wanna shake that spitty hand. Instead I just said it was nice to meet him. He lowered his hand in what seemed to be dissappointment, but I could have been wrong. There was a very brief moment of silence when blue-eyed kid started talking.

"So, what were you doing hidin' behind the curtain kid? Why didn't ya stay to watch the show?

I'm not gonna lie. I was kinda intimidated by him. He looked like he could throw me halfway across the street and not even break a sweat…

"Well, I didn't want my food to get cold. It was so good. The first decent meal I've had since I don't know when…"

It wasn't a lie exactly. I mean I was starving. But I didn't wanna tell him he scared me.

He turned to Medda then and started asking all these questions. Like

What's her name? To which Medda replied 'I don't know…' How long she been here? 'About two hours.' Well, how long she stayin? 'As long as she wants to stay here.'

Blue-eyed boy came up to me then. He looked at me like he was measuring up my worth. The glare on my face was meant to intimidate, but I'm pretty sure I was embarrasing myself more than I was making myself look good.

He extended his hand in the same way Jack had done, spit and all. Apparently his name was Spot Conlon. Spot? I mean come on, couldn't whoever gave him the name of come up with something I wouldn't name my dog if I had one. Like the first time, I didn't take the hand that was offered to me. I just nodded again but this time I introduced myself in return.

"Charlotte Stone." I said. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Charlotte? That's not no newsie name." Spot said.

"I'm not a newsie…"

"Well, you aint got any family do ya? And you'll wanna earn a livin' somehow right?"

I didn't disagree with the first statement. I mean the family I thought I had wasn't really much of a family was it? To the second I contemplated this. I was only fifteen, which seemed to be about the same age as the two boys in front of me. I had never thought about earning money before.

"No, I have noone. And I guess I do need to earn some kinda money."

Medda looked at me then. She had an idea where if I worked as a newsie I could stay at the theater and just pay her some rent. The idea excited me. Medda seemed to be a wonderful and kind lady. I quickly agreed to the idea.

"Well, before you can just call ya self a newsie, ya need a nickname." Spot noted.

He paused lost in thought for a minute or two. Finally after what seemed like an eternity his eyes lit up as if he had just had a brilliant idea.

"I gots it! We'll call you Curtain. On account of how I first noticed ya, ya know behind the curtain. It's how we first got to meet."

He smiled at me and his blue eyes lit up. I knew we were gonna be really good friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Newies. I own Curtain/Charlotte. Phoenix (Who is the same Phoenix from my other story) And the several new characters I will be introducing soon whose names are as follows: Dice (who is the same Dice from my other story) and Peaches.

Also, is anyone actually reading this?

Two days later I sat on my bed getting ready for my first day as an official newsie. Jack and Spot had decided that of course it was better for me to sell in Manhattan, but I was always welcome in Brooklyn to. Well, first Spot had to make sure it was ok with the leader of Brooklyn, whom he referred to as Phoenix, but Spot said that it would probably be ok. Jack had explained that there was no real leader of Manhattan at the time so me selling papes here was not an issue. I was so excited I barely slept the night before. Medda had taken me out to get some clothes befitting of my situation. I'd never had such nice clothes, or as many as a matter of fact. The only thing I'd had a problem with at first was the fact that I had not one dress. I complained about this to Medda and she so eloquently informed me that as a newsie I was not a girl. I was to pretend to be a boy. That thought had never occurred to me before. I was a little sad, but in the end Medda bought me three very pretty dresses. I was putting on my socks and shoes when Medda came in; a smile lighting up her face. I was really starting to like Medda. She was like the older sister I never had, or the mother that I wish I had gotten. I noticed a silver object in her hand and as she raised it a feeling of dread came over me. In her hands were scissors.

"All right now Curtain let's get those locks cut."

I stared in shock. I think it was because one, that was the first time anyone had actually called me by my new newise name, and two, because this crazy lady wanted to CUT MY HAIR!

"NO!" I shouted. "I'm ok with pretending to be a boy, but I will not let you cut my hair! Never ever!"

I knew I sounded like a brat. I liked my hair because it was the one thing that I'd ever really liked about myself. That and it guarranted I wouldn't be doomed to look like a boy when not in my newsie get up.

"Curtain, you have to! What if your cap gets knocked off and someone realizes you're a girl! What if something awful happened to you?"

I wanted to tell her about all the bad things that had already happened to me. But instead I kept arguing.

"What if I wear a wig, ya know, one that's short and boyish?"

Medda gave this a moment's thought and then left the room. A few minutes later she came strolling back in with a bundle of something in her arms. The first was flesh colored and ugly. The second thing was a dark brown color and looked alive. She then seperated the two items and held them up for me to see. The ugly item was, as Medda called it, a bald cap. It would go over my normal hair and as the name implies it would make me appear bald. The second item was a wig, just like I had suggested. A smile spread over my face as I realized that meant no cutting of my hair. Medda helped me put both items on and then turned me to face the mirror. The reflection looking back at me was strange. The person in the mirror looked surprised. I looked so much like a boy I doubt even my own mother would have been able to tell the difference. Well, if she had paid any attention to me. Medda finished my look by placing my cap on my head. I was ready to go. As Medda gave me directions to the circulation building I almost wanted to ask her to come with me. But that thougth was soon diminished when I realized I was a newsie and didn't need anyone to hold my hand for me anymore…

A/N: I have decided to official discontinue Love on the Brooklyn Bridge. However, many of the elements and back stories will be brought into Curtain's story. Example: How Spot became a newie and some stuff about Phoenix and Dice. Also, for those of you wondering who the heck this Peaches person is going to be he is a friend of Dice's from Georgia. Get it Georgia Peaches. Funny right? Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this and please review if you'd like, and also so I know people actual like this story. I mean, I don't mind writing it for myself, but my intentions were for others to enjoy it too.

p.s. I'm thinking of bringing Mouse (the main character from Love on the Brooklyn Bridge) into this story. Not as a newsie but to kind of create drama and tension between Spot and Curtain later on in the story…


	5. Chapter 5 preview

A/N I'm back! :) Sorry it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R to get back on. Between work and school and life I just didn't have the time to keep going until now.

So here's a little preview of the next chapter...please review so I know people are actually reading this... :)

Disclaimer: Don't Own Newsies [DON]

As I made my way to the ciruclation building I became increasingly more nervous. My stomach was doing flips and my heart was pounding hard in my chest. As I rounded the corner I saw Jack and the other newsies coming around the corner. This was my first test. Fooling the newsies into thinking I was a boy. I came up to Jack. He looked at me for a second with a confused look on his face.

"Jack, it's me...Curtain.." so far the plan was working.

As this news dawned on him he got the biggest smirk on his face.

"Heya Curtain!" he responded.

He then spit in his hand and extended it to me. My mind reeled at this and I knew I was beginning to sweat from nervousness. I knew if I didn't imitate the gesture the others would be suspicious. In the end I spit in my hand and took Jacks.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies.

A/N: Here it is! This is Chapter 5. FINALLY! One thing: I changed Curtain's age from eleven to fifteen. It was hard figuring out how to age her and also because I wanted to get the Spot/Curtain romance rolling. Haha.

This was it, my first day as a newsie. Medda had given me her approval that I was a very convincing boy. As I made my way to the building where I was meeting Jack I became increasingly more nervous. My stomach was doing flips and my heart was pounding hard in my chest. As I rounded the corner I saw Jack and the other newsies coming around the corner. This was my first test. Fooling the newsies into thinking I was a boy. I came up to Jack. He looked at me for a second with a confused look on his face.

"Jack, it's me...Curtain…" so far the plan was working.

As this news dawned on him he got the biggest smirk on his face.

"Hiya Curtain!" he responded.

He then spit in his hand and extended it to me. My mind reeled at this and I knew I was beginning to sweat from nervousness. I knew if I didn't imitate the gesture the others would be suspicious. In the end I spit in my hand and took Jacks. Jack then introduced me to several newsies. It turns out that they all had strange nicknames, for example, Racetrack and Crutchy. Jack's nickname was very fitting: Cowboy. And just like I figured, I had to spit shake with all of them, resisting the urge to wipe my hand of the whole time. They had no idea I was really a girl. In my head all I could think was that I pulled it off…at least so far. And for once, I felt truly accepted and loved. As the boys started down towards the circulation building they started singing a song, something about carrying the banner and putting up the headline. _What have I gotten myself into? Are they crazy? Oh my goodness, we're getting closer to people! What if they complain? Oh no! That man is staring at me! Does he know I'm just pretending to be a boy? _Nothing happened. The people in the square acted like there weren't a bunch of crazy singing boys around them. We made it to the circulation building and Jack was the first one to the window.

"Oh Mr. Weasel..." Jack called.

Jack then handed me some money and instructed me to get a dozen papers. A short plump man came to the window.

"How many times do I have to tell ya…it's Wiesel?"

Jack laughed at this, handed his money over and requested one hundred papes. He took his papers and then it was my turn. I nervously stepped up to the window.

"O-o-one hundred papes please…"

He handed me a stack of papers. I counted them and there were only eleven.

"Excuse me. There's only eleven papers here…I asked for a dozen. That means twel…"

This Mr. Weasel person cut me off…

"Are you accusing me of lying about how many papes I'm giving out? "

"No, but I am accusing you of being a bad counter…"

The newsies behind me laughed. Weasel started yelling at me until Jack came back up and confronted him.

"Hey, stop your yelling and just give her the pape…I mean him. Give him the pape."

Weasel gave Jack a quizzical look and handed the paper over and I could feel the eyes of every newsie staring at me.

_Oh no! How do we explain that mistake? Good job Jackie boy! Bravo! And here I thought I was going to be the one to mess this up…_

Jack and I both left the window. I turned to him with anger in my eyes.

"Jack! What was that? Did you see all the looks everyone had on their faces as you said that?"

"Look, no one's gonna even care so quit your worrying."

Jack was right. No one said anything, but I swear the newsie nicknamed Racetrack kept giving me weird looks. The newsies each went their own way, but Jack stayed with me to teach me the ropes of being a newsie.

"The first thing to remember Curtain is that headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes."

I laughed at this and Jack gave me a very stern look that only made me laugh harder. He lightly hit my arm and I winced. I had a pretty bad bruise there, but I shook it off.

"Don't you know you aren't supposed to hit girls?"

"Good thing you ain't a girl then huh?"

He patted my head as if saying: 'As long as you wear this cap you are a boy…'

We continued walking until we were on the edge of a group of people.

"Ok Curtain. Look at this headline: **Man arrested for brutally beating wife and child.**"

I looked in horror at the face staring back at me. I dropped my hundred papers in shock. I heard a scream and it took me a moment to realize it came from me. Jack ushered me into an ally and sat me down.

"What was that for?"

"That man that made the headline…is my father…"

A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter! I've been writing a lot in advanced so I will have one possibly two more chapters up soon! Review if you'd like.


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